UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


Class  Book  Volume 


Ja  09-20M 


tCWOK.CS 

OtfAFrMENi 


i 


LETTERS 


FROM  THE 


HON.  ABBOTT  LAWBENCE 

TO  THE 

HON.  WILLIAM  C.  R^JES, 


OF  VIRGINIA. 


BOSTON ; 
1846. 

EASTBURN’S  PRESS. 


r 

f 

* 


LETTERS. 


RESOURCES  OF  VIRGINIA. 

We  invite  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  interesting  communication  of 
this  distinguished  citizen,  in  our  columns  of  to-day.  It  is  a  subject  which 
comes  home  to  the  “  business  and  bosoms”  of  us  all — the  interests  and  im¬ 
provement  of  our  own  State.  Mr.  Lawrence,  during  his  service  in  Congress, 
was  most  advantageously  known  to  the  whole  Union,  by  the  clear-sighted 
sagacity  and  strong  practical  sense  which  always  distinguished  his  views  of 
public  measures.  He  is  eminently  natijnal  in  his  sentiments  and  feelings, 
and  has  ever  shown  himself  a  true  friend  of  the  South.  Suggestions  from  so 
liberal  and  enlightened  a  source,  naturally  commend  themselves  to  the  cordial 
and  respectful  attention  of  Virginians.  We  shall  have  great  pleasure  in  lay¬ 
ing  before  our  readers  the  additional  communication  he  gives  us  reason  to 
expect.  Richmond  Whig, 

MR.  LAWRENCE  TO  MR.  RIVES. 


NUMBER  I. 

Boston,  January  7,  1846. 

My  Dear  Sir  : 

When  you  were  with  us  last  summer,  I  more  than  half 
promised  to  make  you  a  short  visit  in  February,  and  I  have 
not  yet  given  up  entirely  the  long  anticipated  pleasure  of 
doing  so. 

^  I  have  not  forgotten  our  conversation  on  the  condition  of  our 
'  country  generally,  and  more  particularly  the  strong  desire 
^  manifested  b%you,  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  people  of 
^  j  always  entertained  feelings  of  high 

Ancient  Dominion,’’  arising  probably  from  the 
intimate  revolutionary  associations  between  her  and  our  ‘‘Old 
Bay  State,”  as  well  as  from  my  having  looked  upon  her  as  the 
mother  of  many  of  the  greatest  statesmen,  and  purest  patriots, 
which  our  country  has  produced. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  you  of  Virginia  should  desire  to  do 
something  by  which  the  matchless  natural  resources  of  your 
native  State  may  be  developed.  I  have  thought  that  the 
State  of  Virginia,  with  its  temperate  climate,  variety  and 
A.  ri 


your  own  Stat^. 
regard  for  the 


4 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


excellence  of  soil,  exhaustless  water  power,  and  exuberant 
mineral  wealth,  contains  within  herself  more  that  is  valuable 
for  the  uses  of  mankind,  in  these  modern  days,  than  any  other 
State  in  our  Union. 

I  need  not  say  to  you,  that  these  gifts  of  Providence  are  of 
little  consequence  to  your  people,  or  to  our  common  country, 
unless  developed  and  improved,  for  the  purposes  for  which 
they  were  intended.  When  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  adopted,  Virginia  contained  double  the  population 
of  New  York ;  and  now.  New  York  contains  double  the  num¬ 
ber  of  people  in  Virginia.  I  do  not  propose  to  inquire  into  the 
causes  that  have  produced  such  a  mighty  change  in  the  rela¬ 
tive  numerical  condition  of  these  two  States.  I  do  propose, 
however,  to  state  to  you  some  of  the  reasons  why  you  should 
now  set  about  doing  something,  to  bring  back  that  prosperity, 
which  many  of  your  people  believe  is  forever  lost. 

The  truth  is,  that  Nature  has  been  profuse  in  her  gifts, 
in  behalf  of  your  people,  and  you  have  done  but  little 
for  yourselves.  The  settlement  and  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  Western  country,  have  brought  into  exist¬ 
ence  an  active,  and  effectual  competition  with  your  people, 
in  the  great  staples  of  your  agricultural  products,  namely, 
Wheat,  Indian  Corn  and  Tobacco.  Maryland  and  North 
Carolina,  like  yourselves,  are  essentially  affected  by  com¬ 
petition  from  the  same  quarter  ;  from  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa. 
The  great  West  is  now  supplying  largely  the  New  England, 
and  other  States,  which  are  consumers  of  these  agricultural 
staples,  in  quantity  and  value,  to  a  greater  extent  than  all  the 
foreign  world  besides.  The  internal  improvements  of  the 
country  already  finished,  have  brought  Boston,  by  steam, 
within  the  distance  of  four  days’  travel  of  Cincinnati,  by  way 
of  Buffalo;  and  a  contemplated  rail-road  from  Burlington, 
Vermont,  to  Ogdensburg,  New  York,  will  bring  us  practically 
yet  nearer  to  those  fertile  regions  of  the  West.  The  expense 
of  transportation  is  essentially  reduced  wherever  Rail-roads  or 
Canals  have  been  constructed,  and  even  the  Mississippi  her¬ 
self  bears  down  upon  her  bosom  the  products  of  the  West,  at 
less  than  half  the  freight  that  was  charged  a  few  years  ago. 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  I. 


5 


Thirty  years  since,  a  few  small  schooners  were  sufficient  to 
carry  on  the  commerce  between  this  city  and  New  Orleans ; 
now,  within  the  last  year,  we  have  had  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  arrivals  from  New  Orleans  at  this  port,  and  many  of 
the  vessels  are  of  the  largest  class  ;  ships  from  five  hundred  to 
seven  hundred  tons  burden.  They  have  brought  us  Tobacco, 
Indian  Corn^  Flour,  Cotton,  Beef,  Pork,  Lard,  Lead,  &c., 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  many  millions  of  dollars.  Of 
the  first  three  of  these  articles,  which  now  come  to  us  in  such 
quantities  from  New  Orleans,  our  importations,  in  former 
times,  were  almost  exclusively  from  Virginia,  North  Carolina 
and  Maryland.  Can  you  expect  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  Western  regions  of  our  country,  where,  without  much 
labor,  the  soil  produces  double,  and  sometimes  even  more,  to 
the  acre,  than  the  average  crops  of  the  last  mentioned  States  ? 
This  competition  will  increase ;  and  it  appears  to  me  that  the 
remedy  for  its  inauspicious  effects  upon  your  welfare,  is  to 
create  a  market  at  home  for  your  surplus  agricultural  products; 
by  establishing  such  Manufactures  as  may  be  adapted  to  the 
peculiar  condition  of  your  labor.  There  are  two  classes  of 
labor  ;  intelligent,  and  unintelligent ;  the  former  is  that  kind 
of  labor  which  requires  a  considerable  amount  of  mental  cul¬ 
ture,  with  active  physical  power.  This  combination  is  capa¬ 
ble  of  applying  Sciehce  to  Art,  and  of  producing  results  that 
are  difficult,  and  oftentimes  complicated.  The  latter  descrip¬ 
tion  of  labor,  is  of  that  character  which  depends  principally  on 
physical  strength;  this  quality  of  labor  you  have  in  abun¬ 
dance  ;  and  I  hope  you  are  not  without  a  tolerable  supply  of 
the  higher  class.  You  may,  without  doubt,  commence  the 
manufacture  of  almost  every  description  of  articles,  requiring 
but  little  skill,  and  prosecute  the  work  with  success.  Manu¬ 
factures  of  such  articles  as  Iron,  Hemp,  Wool,  Cotton,  Leather, 
&c.,  wrought  into  the  coarser  and  more  common  articles,  would 
succeed  with  you. 

You  will  find,  very  soon  after  a  regular  system  of  the 
division  of  labor  shall  have  been  introduced,  that  a  desire  for 
knowledge  will  be  created ;  more  education,  more  intellectual 
cultivation,  will  be  desired  by  those  engaged  in  the  mechan¬ 
ical  departments ;  and  with  this  eagerness  for  knowledge,  will 


6 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


follow  skill  and  cleverness  in  the  use  of  tools,  and  then  will 
follow  the  inventive  power,  for  which  our  people  have  become 
so  distinguished  in  the  estimation  of  the  world. 

You  cannot  do  any  thing  in  Virginia,  that  will  so  completely 
promote  the  introduction  of  Raihroads,  as  the  placing  of  man¬ 
ufacturing  establishments  on  your  beautiful  waterfalls.  The 
water  power  on  the  James  River,  at  Richmond,  is  unrivaled ; 
and  it  seems  a  great  waste  of  natural  wealth,  to  permit  it  to 
run  into  the  sea,  having  hardly  touched  a  water-wheel.  If 
the  prominent  men  of  Virginia,  of  both  political  parties,  will 
give  up  their  party  warfare,  and  resolve  themselves  into  a 
“  Committee  of  the  Whole,  on  the  Commonwealth,  to  improve 
the  state  of  Agriculture,’’  by  making  two  blades  of  grass  grow, 
where  there  is  now  but  one ;  if  they  will  establish  manufac¬ 
tures,  and  carry  on  a  well-adjusted  system  of  internal  improve¬ 
ments,  they  will  then  have  done  something  that  will  be 
substantial,  abiding — which  will  stand  as  memorials  of  their 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  through  all 
time.  Let  your  common  school  system  go  hand  in  hand  with 
the  employment  of  your  people  ;  you  may  be  quite  certain  that 
the  adoption  of  these  systems  at  once,  will  aid  each  other. 

You  cannot,  I  should  suppose,  expect  to  develope  your 
resources,  without  a  general  system  of  popular  education ;  it 
is  the  lever  to  all  permanent  improvement.  It  appears  to  me 
essential  to  the  preservation  of  our  Republican  Institutions, 
that  the  people  of  this  country  should  be  educated,  and  that 
all  intellectual  culture  should  be  founded  upon  our  Holy 
Religion  :  the  pure  precepts  of  the  Gospel  are  the  only  safe 
source  from  which  we  can  freely  draw  our  morality.  It  is 
essential  that  we  should  have  an  educated  population ;  inas¬ 
much,  as  every  man  can  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  : — the 
elective  franchise,  in  the  hands  of  an  ignorant  and  debased 
population,  would  very  soon  place  our  country  in  a  state  of 
anarchy.  We  should  strive  to  elevate  the  laboring  and  less 
favored  classes.  In  Europe,  the  great  body  of  the  people  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  election  of  their  rulers ;  even  in 
England,  free  as  she  is,  compared  with  many  of  the  conti¬ 
nental  States,  the  mass  of  the  people  do  not  exercise  the 
elective  franchise :  this  is  a  point  of  primary  importance,  and 


HOxN.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  I. 


7 


your  people  may  rest  assured  that  taxes  for  education,  even  as 
a  matter  of  pecuniary  gain,  would  greatly  enhance  the  value 
of  their  property.  I  am,  therefore,  clear  in  my  convictions  not 
only  of  the  duty,  but  the  expediency  of  introducing  manufac¬ 
tures  extensively  into  your  State,  with  an  expansive  system 
of  popular  education  ;  and  from  these  movements  will  soon  he 
seen  the  happiest  results,  in  a  healthful  prosperity,  and  a 
striking  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  people. 

Just  for  a  moment  imagine  the  whole  supernumerary  popu¬ 
lation  of  Virginia  employed  at  a  rate  of  wages,  such  as  are 
paid  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States;  what  think  you 
would  he  the  effect?  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  the  value  of 
land  would  increase  within  five  miles  around  each  manufac¬ 
turing  village,  equal  to  the  cost  of  all  the  machinery  in  it. 
The  sphere  of  labor  must  be  enlarged,  diversified,  if  you 
would  bring  out  the  energies  of  your  people.  I  yet  hope  to 
see  Virginia  take  that  place,  among  the  old  Thirteen^  that 
seemed  by  Providence  to  be  assigned  to  her  :  it  can  only  be 
achieved,  by  energy  and  perseverance,  on  the  part  of  .those 
who  have  the  destinies  of  their  fellow  citizens  in  keeping. 
Let  the  law  makers,  and  those  who  administer  them,  not  only 
speak  out,  but  so  act,  as  to  give  an  impetus  to  labor  :  let  it  be 
considered  respectable  for  every  man  to  have  a  vocation,  and 
to  follow  it.  If  not  for  his  own  pecuniary  profit,  let  him  labor 
for  character,  which  he  is  certain  to  obtain,  if  his  labors  benefit 
others.  I  intended  to  make  some  remarks  on  the  recommenda¬ 
tion  of  the  President  in  his  annual  message,  and  the  report  of 
the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  change  our  whole 
Revenue  system.  The  plan  proposed,  if  carried  out,  has  an 
important  bearing  on  the  subject  of  this  letter,  which  is,  how¬ 
ever,  already  sufficiently  long.  Reserving  therefore  my  remarks 
upon  the  last  mentioned  topics,  for  another  communication, 

I  remain  very  faithfully. 

Your  friend  and  ob’t  servant, 

ABBOTT  LAWRENCE. 

To  the  Honorable  W.  0.  Rives, 

Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 


8 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


MR.  LAWRENCE  TO  MR.  RIVES. 

NUMBER  II. 

Another  Letter  from  the  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence. — We  cheerfully  give  up  our 
own  space  to-day,  to  a  second  Letter  from  the  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  and 
feel  sure  that  our  readers  will  thank  us  for  the  substitution.  We  have  taken 
but  a  mere  glance  at  this  document,  but  think  we  may  safely  say,  it  is  a  pow¬ 
erful  and  impressive  paper — throwing  much  light  upon  subjects  of  particular 
interest  to  Virginia,  and,  indeed,  to  the  whole  country. 

Richmond  Whig. 

Boston,  January  16th,  1846. 

My  Dear  Sir  : 

I  stated  in  my  letter  of  the  7th,  that  I  should  write  to  you 
again,  upon  the  subject  of  the  entire  change  proposed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas¬ 
ury,  in  our  Revenue  Laws.  It  is  no  other,  than  the  adoption 
of  ad  valorem  for  specific  duties,  and  a  reduction  of  the  whole 
to  20  per  cent ;  this  being  the  maximum  at  which  the  Secre¬ 
tary  supposes  the  largest  revenue  can  be  obtained.  I  shall  not 
now  discuss  the  rates  of  duty  that  will  produce  the  greatest 
amount  of  revenue.  I  will  leave  the  Secretary  to  settle  that 
question  ;  but  shall  endeavor  to  show  what  the  effect  will  be 
upon  the  country,  if  his  recommendation  should  be  adopted 
by  Congress.  I  deem  the  scheme  proposed  to  Congress,  in  the 
main,  a  currency  question,  and  one  which,  if  carried  out,  will 
reach,  in  its  operation,  the  occupation  and  business  of  every 
man  in  the  United  States.  I  believe  the  most  economical 
member  of  Congress  will  agree  that  thirty  millions  of  dollars 
will  be  required,  annually,  to  carry  on  this  Government,  for 
the  next  five  years,  and  that  this  estimate  does  not  include 
large  sums  that  may  be  wanted  to  settle  our  affairs  with  Mex¬ 
ico,  Texas,  &c.,  &c.,  and  that  this  sum  is  to  be  raised  from 
Foreign  Importations  and  the  Public  Lands.  The  goods,  sub¬ 
ject  to  duty,  imported  the  last  year,  amounted,  in  round 
numbers,  to  90  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  goods  free  of  duty 
to  about  25  millions.  I  have  not  the  returns  at  hand,  and  may 
not  be  exactly  correct  as  to  amounts,  but  they  are  near  enough 
to  illustrate  my  arguments  :  the  former  paid  an  average  duty 
of  about  32  per  cent,  creating  a  revenue,  say  of  28  millions. 
If  the  revenue  derived  from  an  importation  of  90  millions, 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  II. 


9 


gave  28  millions  of  dollars,  what  amount  must  be  imported,  to 
produce  the  same  sum  at  20  per  cent  ad  valorem  ? 

The  answer  is,  140  millions ;  add  to  this,  the  free  goods, 
about  25  millions,  and  we  have  an  importation  of  165  millions 
of  dollars.  Our  exports  have  not  exceeded,  nor  are  they  likely 
at  present  to  exceed  120  millions :  we  then  have  a  deficit 
of  45  millions  to  provide  for;  and  how  is  this  balance  to  be 
paid  ?  State  Stocks  are  no  longer  current  in  Europe.  Even 
the  Stocks  of  the  United  States  cannot  be  negotiated  on  favor¬ 
able  terms. 

We  who  are  merchants  can  answer  this  question,  having 
often  been  obliged  to  make  our  remittances  in  coin,  when  our 
imports  have  exceeded  our  exports. 

If  we  are  obliged  to  import  140  millions  of  goods  subject  to 
duty,  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  Government,  it  is  quite  certain 
that  the  coin  must  be  exported,  to  meet  the  deficiency.  If  the 
importations  fall  short  of  140  millions,  we  then  have  an  empty 
Treasury.  In  one  case,  the  country  will  be  made  bankrupt  to 
fill  the  Treasury ;  and  in  the  other,  the  Treasury  will  be  bank¬ 
rupt,  and  resort  to  Congress  for  Treasury  Notes  and  Loans.  It 
may  be  said  that  our  exports  will  increase  with  our  imports ; 
this  supposition  I  think  fallacious.  The  policy  of  Great 
Britain,  and  that  of  all  Europe,  has  been,  and  is  likely  to  con¬ 
tinue,  to  protect  every  thing  produced  either  at  home  or  in 
their  colonies.  In  Great  Britain,  the  article  of  Cotton  is  now 
admitted  free,  the  duty  having  been  repealed  the  very  last 
year.  This  was  owing  to  repeated  representations  of  the  Man¬ 
chester  spinners  to  Parliament  as  to  the  necessity  of  such  a 
measure,  in  consequence  of  the  competition  from  foreign  coun¬ 
tries  in  the  coarse  fabrics  manufactured  from  cotton  produced 
in,  and  shipped  from,  the  United  States.  The  argument  pre¬ 
sented  in  the  House  of  Commons  was,  that  the  Americans  had 
taken  possession  of  every  market,  where  they  were  admitted 
on  the  same  terms  with  their  coarse  goods.  This  is  a  true 
representation,  and  I  apprehend  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on 
Cotton  will  not  enable  the  British  manufacturer  to  again 
obtain  possession  of  those  markets,  for  the  heavy  descriptions 
of  Cotton  fabrics. 

What  other  article  of  importance  does  the  Government  of 

2 


10 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


Great  Britain  admit  free  of  duty  ?  I  know  of  none.  Cotton  is 
admitted  free  of  duty  from  necessity.  How  is  it  with  To¬ 
bacco  ?  A  duty  is  paid  of  1200  per  cent.  Wheat  is  prohibited 
by  the  Sliding  Scale/’  and  in  case  of  a  total  repeal  of  the 
Corn  Laws,  very  little  Wheat  would  be  shipped  from  this 
country,  inasmuch  as  it  can  be  laid  down,  in  ordinary  years  of 
harvest,  much  cheaper  from  the  Baltic.  Beef  and  Pork  are 
burdened  with  a  heavy  duty.  The  duty  and  charges  on  a 
barrel  of  American  Pork  laid  down  in  Liverpool,  with  the 
commissions  for  sales,  amount  to  $5,75 ;  so  that  the  quantity 
of  this  article  shipped  to  England  must  be  inconsiderable,  un¬ 
less  the  prices  here  should  be  so  low  as  to  be  ruinous  to  the 
farmer.  I  cannot  find  in  the  catalogue  of  our  strictly  agricul¬ 
tural  products,  a  single  article  that  is  not  burdened  with  a  high 
duty,  in  England,  or  other  parts  of  Europe,  if  it  comes  in  com¬ 
petition  with  their  own  products ;  nor  can  I  discover  that  there 
is  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  a  single  European  Nation  to  relax 
the  stringent  system  of  duties  on  imports  from  this  country. 
It  is  possible  that  Great  Britain  may  abate  her  Corn  Laws,  so 
far  as  to  admit  Indian  Corn  at  a  nominal  duty.  If  it  should 
be  done,  I  have  little  faith  in  our  being  able  to  ship  it  to  ad¬ 
vantage.  I  state  the  fact,  then,  that  exports  will  not  increase 
in  consequence  of  a  reduction,  or  even  a  total  repeal,  of  the 
present  Tariff.  The  duty  in  Great  Britain,  on  all  the  products 
of  the  United  States,  received  in  that  kingdom,  including  cot¬ 
ton,  is  not  less  than  48  per  cent.,  and  exclusive  of  cotton,  300 
per  cent ;  and  this,  too,  on  raw  produce  generally,  where  the 
charge  of  freight  constitutes  from  one-tenth  to  one-quarter  of 
the  cost  here — and  this  is  Free  Trade! 

I  hope  you,  of  Virginia,  will  examine  this  matter,  and  ask 
yourselves  where  the  best  customers  are  to  be  found  for  your 
agricultural  products.  I  will  just  state  to  you  here,  that  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  takes  annually  more  Flour,  Indian  Corn,  Pork,  and 
many  other  articles,  the  productions  of  the  West,  as  well 
as  of  Virginia,  than  all  Europe. 

The  question  then  arises,  what  will  be  our  condition  after 
the  proposed  plan  of  low  duties  goes  into  operation?  In 
twenty  days  after  the  bill  becomes  a  lav/,  it  will  have  reached 
every  country  in  Europe  with  which  we  have  trade :  the  man- 


11 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  II. 

ufactories  are  all  set  in  motion  for  the  supply  of  the  American 
market ;  the  merchandize  is  shipped  on  account  of  foreigners, 
in  many  cases  with  double  invoices,  one  set  for  the  Custom 
House,  and  another  for  the  sales^  so  that  instead  of  the  duty 
amounting  to  20  per  cent,  it  will  not,  probably,  exceed  15  per 
cent.  This  has  been  the  experience  of  the  American  Importers 
in  New  York,  who,  previously  to  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  of 
1842,  had  (most  of  them)  abandoned  the  business,  not  being 
able  to  compete  successfully  with  fraudulent  foreigners.  I 
will  not  say  that  all  foreigners  commit  frauds  on  the  revenue — 
far  from  it ; — but  1  do  say,  that  enormous  frauds  have  been 
perpetrated  by  foreigners,  on  the  revenue,  under  ad  valorem 
duties,  and  will  be  again — prostrating  the  business  of  honest 
foreign  and  American  importers.  In  less  than  twelve  months, 
after  the  new  plan  shall  have  been  in  operation,  this  whole 
country  will  be  literally  surfeited  with  foreign  merchandize ; 
(if  it  be  not  so,  the  revenue  will  fall  short  of  the  wants  of  the 
Government ;)  we  shall  then  owe  a  debt  abroad  of  millions  of 
dollars,  which  must  be  paid  in  coin.  The  exchanges  go  up  to 
a  point  that  makes  it  profitable  to  ship  specie;  money  becomes 
scarce  in  the  Atlantic  cities  ;  yet  bills  on  England  and  France 
do  not  fall ;  the  loans  made  to  the  South  and  West  are  called 
in  ;  demands  for  debts  due  from  those  sections  of  country,  are 
made ;  exchange  cannot  be  obtained, — produce  is  purchased 
and  shipped ;  and  when  it  arrives  at  the  North,  it  will  not 
command  the  cost  in  the  West :  a  paralysis  will  have  struck 
the  business  of  the  country ;  produce  will  no  longer  answer 
to  pay  debts  due  at  the  North,  and  the  next  resort  is  to  coin, 
which  is  to  be  collected  and  sent  down  the  Mississippi,  or  over 
the  mountains,  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York  and 
Boston.  Western  and  Southern  credits  are  cut  off,  as  the 
people  of  those  sections  can  no  longer  promptly  meet  their 
engagements.  The  new  States,  and  the  outer  circle  of  the 
Republic,  are  the  weak  points ;  and  the  first  giving  way  of  the 
Banks  is  heard  from  those  places,  where  there  is  the  least 
amount  of  capital.  We  see  the  storm  approaching  like  a 
thunder  shower  in  a  summer’s  day ;  we  watch  its  progress, 
but  cannot  escape  its  fall.  It  at  last  reaches  the  great  marts 
of  trade  and  the  exchanges,  having  swept  every  thing  in  its 


12 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


course;  and  the  Banks  of  the  Atlantic  cities,  after  a  violent 
eifort  to  maintain  their  credit  and  honor,  are  forced  to  yield  to 
this  Utopian  experiment  on  the  currency.  I  have  no  hesita¬ 
tion  in  stating  that  all  this  will  take  place  within  the  space  of 
eighteen  months  from  the  time  this  experimental  bill  goes  into 
operation  ;  and  not  a  specie-paying  Bank,  doing  business,  will 
be  found  in  the  United  States.  Where  will  be  the  revenue 
which  was  to  produce  such  a  mighty  sum  under  low  duties  1 
Where  is  the  Treasury,  and  the  Secretary  7  and  the  President 
and  his  Cabinet  7  The  Treasury  is  empty  ;  the  Secretary  is 
making  his  estimates  of  income  for  1849,  and  preparing  to  ask 
Congress  for  a  large  batch  of  Treasury  Notes  ;  or  perhaps  the 
deficit  is  so  large  that  a  loan  may  be  required.  We  have  now 
come  to  a  point  of  depression  in  the  great  business  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  which  has  attracted  the  attention  and  anxiety  of  all  classes 
of  people,  all  having  felt  its  blight,  excepting  the  great  capital¬ 
ists  and  money  holders,  who  are  reaping  golden  harvests  by 
the  purchase  of  property,  which  the  wants  of  the  unfortunate 
throw  into  the  market  at  ruinous  rates.  It  is  now  seen  and 
felt  from  the  low  wages  of  labor,  and  the  great  number  of  per¬ 
sons  unemployed,  with  the  cries  of  distress  from  all  quarters, 
that  it  is  the  labor  and  not  the  capital  of  the  country  that  suf¬ 
fers  by  violent  revulsions  caused  by  unwise  legislation.  Have 
the  people  of  the  South  and  West  forgotten  their  troubles  of 
1837  to  1842 — to  the  hour  of  the  passage  of  that  Law,  which 
has  redeemed  the  credit  of  the  Government,  and  restored  pros¬ 
perity  to  the  country  7  I  have  intimated  that  there  is  less 
capital  in  the  new  States  than  in  many  of  the  old  ones;  it  will 
not  be  denied  that  the  monied  capital  of  this  country  is  held  in 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  and  that  the  South  and  West 
are  usually  largely  indebted  to  them.  Now,  L  should  be  glad 
to  be  informed  what  benefit  is  to  be  derived  by  a  Planter  in 
Alabama  or  Mississippi,  or  a  farmer  in  Ohio  or  Illinois,  by  a 
change,  like  that  I  have  described,  particularly,  if  by  chance 
he  should  be  in  debt  7  Do  the  people  of  the  South  believe  they 
can  raise  the  price  of  Cotton,  or  be  able  to  negotiate  loans,  to 
prosecute  the  construction  of  their  contemplated  Rail-road  7 
Do  Ohio,  Louisiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  believe  they  are  to 
create  a  better  market  for  their  produce,  or  sooner  complete 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  11. 


13 


the  Harbors,  so  much  desired  on  the  shores  of  those  ^Hnland 
Seas,’’  and  be  able  to  negotiate  Loans,  and  obtain  subscribers 
to  the  Stock  of  their  intended  Rail-roads,  by  the  adoption  of 
this  new  system  of  political  economy  1  And  now  what  say 
the  great  States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  to  this  pro¬ 
posed  experiment  ?  Can  they  afford  to  try  it,  and  are  they 
ready?  If  they  are,  it  will  be  adopted;  if  they  are  not,  the 
present  Law  will  stand,  and  the  Country  will  repose  for  awhile 
in  happiness  and  prosperity.  Any  one  would  suppose,  that 
those  States,  that  are  now  just  emerging  from  embarrassment, 
which  at  one  time  seemed  almost  sufficient  to  overwhelm  them 
in  ruin,  would  be  unwilling  to  try  an  experiment  which  is  cer¬ 
tain,  in  my  judgment,  to  place  them  in  a  position  that  will  be 
the  means  of  destroying  the  fair  prospects  of  thousands  who 
are  resting  in  quiet  security  upon  the  faith  of  what  they  deem 
a  paternal  and  wise  Government.  The  question  of  an  impor¬ 
tant  alteration  in  our  Revenue  Laws,  should  not  be  kept  in 
suspense.  The  Treasury  will  feel  its  effects  before  the  end  of 
the  present  year.  The  expectation  of  a  great  reduction  of 
duties  prevents  the  merchants  from  going  on  with  their  usual 
business.  Voyages  are  delayed,  and  orders  for  goods  are  held 
back,  until  this  important  question  shall  be  settled.  I  say, 
therefore,  if  we  are  to  go  through  this  fiery  ordeal,  let  it  come 
at  once, — we  cannot  probably  place  ourselves  in  a  better  con¬ 
dition  than  we  are  now,  to  meet  the  troubles  that  await  us. 

Mr.  Walker  proposes  to  substitute  ad  valorem  for  specific 
duties,  in  opposition  to  our-own  experience,  and  that  of  almost 
every  other  country.  I  have  never  yet  found  an  American 
merchant  who  has  not  been  in  favor  of  specific  duties,  wherever 
it  can  be  done  with  convenience  to  the  Importer  and  the  Gov¬ 
ernment.  I  confess  it  is  a  bold  measure  to  propose  a  total  and 
entire  change  of  a  Revenue  system,  which  was  established 
with  the  Government,  and  has  stood  the  test  of  experience, 
through  all  the  trials  of  political  parties  and  Administrations, 
from  General  Washington  to  Mr.  Polk.  It  appears  more  ex¬ 
traordinary  at  this  time,  as  the  country  is  in  a  high  state  of 
prosperity.  The  revenue  is  enough  for  all  the  reasonable 
wants  of  the  Government,  and  the  people  appear  to  be  satis¬ 
fied  with  their  condition.  The  resources  of  the  country  were 


14 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


never  developing  more  rapidly ;  the  increase  of  our  population, 
the  present  year,  will  probably  equal  that  of  the  last,  which  I 
estimate  at  600,000  souls  ;  our  wealth  too  has  been  wonder¬ 
fully  augmented  by  the  construction  of  Rail-roads;  there  has 
been  a  great  increase  of  our  shipping,  engaged  in  the  domestic 
commerce  of  the  country,  not  only  by  sea,  but  upon  our  rivers 
and  great  lakes  :  the  manufacturing  interest  has  been  largely 
extended;  and  the  soil,  too,  has  been  made  to  produce  vastly 
more  than  at  any  former  period.  The  whole  productive  power 
of  the  country  has  been  greater  in  three  years  (that  is,  since 
the  passage  of  the  Tariff  of  1842,)  than  during  any  equal 
space  of  time  in  our  national  history.  There  have  been  three 
periods  of  universal  distress  throughout  our  land,  since  the 
peace  of  1783,  and  in  each  case  under  low  duties.  I  appeal  to 
those  who  remember  those  periods ;  and  to  others,  I  refer  to 
the  annals  of  our  country.  Those  periods  were  from  1783 
(the  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  War)  to  1789,  1815  to 
1824,  1837  to  1842. 

I  would  respectfully  recommend  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  who  appears  to  have  received  new  light  upon  the 
subject  of  our  national  economy,  to  examine  the  history  of  the 
legislation  of  Congress  at  the  above  periods.  He  will  find  in 
his  own  department  of  the  Government,  abundant  evidence  of 
the  distress  that  existed  under  low  duties  and  a  deranged 
currency. 

There  is  a  prevalent  idea  abroad,  that  the  capital  of  the 
country  will  suffer  exceedingly  by  a  revulsion  in  its  business, 
and  that  the  tariff  of  1842,  has  operated  in  favor  of  the  capital, 
and  not  the  labor  of  the  country.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
capital  is  generally  profitably  and  safely  employed,  and  well 
paid.  The  profits  of  capital  are  low,  when  wages  are  low  ; 
but  capital  has  usually  had  the  power  to  take  care  of  itself, 
and  does  not  require  the  aid  of  Congress  to  place  it  in  any 
other  position,  than  to  put  the  labor  in  motion.  Congress 
should  legislate  for  the  labor,  and  the  capital  will  take  care  of 
itself.  I  will  give  you  an  example  of  the  rate  of  wages  under 
low  duties,  and  under  the  tariff  of  1842.  In  1841  and  1842, 
the  depression  in  all  kinds  of  business  became  so  oppressive, 
that  many  of  the  manufacturing  establishments  in  New  Eng- 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  II. 


15 


land  were  closed,  the  operatives  dismissed,  the  mechanical 
trades  were  still,  and  every  resource  for  the  laboring  man 
seemed  dried  up. 

In  the  city  of  Lowell,  where  there  are  more  than  thirty  large 
cotton  mills,  with  from  six  to  sixteen  thousand  spindles  each, 
it  was  gravely  considered  by  the  proprietors  whether  the  mills 
should  be  stopped.  It  was  concluded  to  reduce  the  wages ; 
this  was  done  several  times,  until  the  reduction  brought  down 
the  wages  from  about  $2  00  to  $1  50  per  week,  exclusive  of 
board  ;  this  operation  took  place  upon  between  7  and  8000  fe¬ 
males  ;  the  mills  run  on ;  no  sales  were  made  of  the  goods ; 
the  South  and  West  had  neither  money  nor  credit,  and  finally, 
it  was  determined  to  hold  out  till  Congress  should  act  upon  the 
tarifi*.  The  bill  passed,  and  of  course  the  mills  were  kept  run¬ 
ning,  which  would  not  have  been  the  case,  if  the  act  had  been 
rejected;  and  now  the  average  wages  paid  at  Lowell — taking 
the  same  number  of  females  for  the  same  service — is  $2  00 
per  week,  exclusive  of  board.  Yet  Mr.  Walker  says  labor  has 
fallen.  Where  are  the  wages  for  labor,  I  ask,  lower  than  they 
were  in  1842  ?  Who  is  to  be  benefited  by  the  adoption  of  a 
system  that  gives  up  every  thing,  and  gives  no  reasonable 
promise  of  any  thing? 

I  have  succeeded,  I  trust,  in  showing  that  there  is  no  prob¬ 
ability  of  our  exports  increasing,  in  consequence  of  a  reduction 
of  the  tariff,  and  that  the  products  of  the  Western  States  find 
the  best  market  among  the  manufacturers  at  home.  In  regard 
to  the  Southern  and  cotton  growing  States,  they  are  to  be  great¬ 
ly  benefited  by  the  increase  of  consumption  of  their  staples  at 
home.  No  appreciable  quantity  can  be  shipped  to  England, 
if  the  tariff  should  be  repealed,  it  being  already  free  of  duty. 
The  establishment  and  successful  prosecution  of  the  spinning 
of  cotton  in  this  country,  has  enabled  the  planters  to  obtain 
for  several  years  past  at  least,  an  additional  cent  per  pound 
on  the  whole  crop,  and  perhaps  even  more.  The  Americans 
are  the  greatest  spinners  of  cotton  in  the  world,  the  Brit¬ 
ish  excepted.  This  competition  has  kept  the  price  from  fall¬ 
ing  to  a  ruinous  point  on  several  occasions,  and  it  has  been 
acknowledged  by  many  of  the  most  intelligent  planters  in  the 
South.  Our  consumption  reached,  the  last  year,  one  hundred 


16 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


and  seventy-six  millions  of  pounds,  which  is  equal  to  the 
whole  crop  of  the  Union  in  1825,  and  equal  to  the  whole  con¬ 
sumption  of  Great  Britain  in  1826.  This  is  a  striking  fact, 
and  one  that  should  be  remembered  by  the  planters.  The 
history  of  the  production  and  manufacture  of  cotton  is  so  ex¬ 
traordinary,  that  I  propose  to  send  to  you  some  statistics  on 
the  subject,  furnished  me  by  a  friend.  I  hope  you  will  not 
deem  me  over  sanguine,  when  I  tell  you  that  it  is  my  belief 
that  the  consumption  of  cotton  in  this  country  will  double  in 
8  or  9  years,  and  that  it  will  reach  400  millions  of  pounds  in 
1856;  and  further,  that  we  are  not  only  destined  to  be  the 
greatest  cotton  growers,  but  the  most  extensive  cotton  spin¬ 
ners,  in  the  world.  We  have  all  the  elements  among  ourselves 
to  make  us  so.  The  manufacture  of  cotton  is  probably  in  its 
infancy ;  but  a  moderate  portion  of  mankind  have  yet  been 
clothed  with  this  healthful  and  cheap  article.  Nothing  can 
stop  the  progress  of  this  manufacture,  but  some  suicidal  legis¬ 
lation,  that  will  prostrate  the  currency  of  the  country,  and 
deprive  the  people  of  the  means  of  consuming.  There  can  be 
no  legislation  that  will  break  down  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
and  wool,  excepting  through  the  operations  of  the  currency. 
We  may  be  disturbed  by  low  duties  ;  the  finer  descriptions 
of  cotton  and  woolens,  printed  goods,  and  worsted  fabrics, 
would  be  seriously  affected  by  low  ad  valorem  duties,  but  the 
coarser  fabrics,  such  as  are  generally  consumed  by  the  great 
body  of  the  people,  will  be  made  here  under  any  and  all  cir¬ 
cumstances.  If  we  have  competition  from  abroad,  the  labor 
must,  and  will  come  down ;  this  has  been  often  tested,  and 
our  experience  establishes  the  fact. 

In  Virginia  and  other  Southern  States,  and  even  at  the  West, 
many  persons  have  believed  that  the  protective  system  was 
made  by,  and  for  New  England,  and  that  New  England,  and 
particularly  Massachusetts,  could  not  thrive  without  it.  Now, 
this  is  an  error ;  the  South  and  West  began  the  system  of  high 
protective  duties,  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  market  for  their 
produce,  (although  the  principle  of  discrimination  was  recog¬ 
nized  and  established  when  the  first  tariff  was  enacted.)  It  is 
not  true,  that  we  are  more  dependent  on  a  protective  tariff, 
than  the  Middle,  Western,  or  Southern  States.  Those  States 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  II. 


17 


that  possess  the  smallest  amount  of  capital,  are  the  most  bene¬ 
fited  by  a  protective  tariff.  We  have  in  New  England,  a 
great  productive  power  ;  in  Massachusetts  far  greater  than  any 
other  State,  in  proportion  to  population.  We  have  a  hardy, 
industrious,  and  highly  intelligent  population,  with  a  perse¬ 
verance  that  seldom  tires,  and  we  have  also  acquired  a  con¬ 
siderable  amount  of  skill,  which  is  increasing  every  day ;  be¬ 
sides  this,  we  have  already  accomplished  a  magnificent  system 
of  intercommunication  between  all  parts  of  this  section  of  the 
country  by  rail-roads ;  this  is  the  best  kind  of  protective  power, 
having  reduced  the  rate  of  carriage  to  a  wonderful  extent ;  this 
being  done,  we  have  money  enough  remaining,  to  keep  all  our 
labor  employed,  and  prosecute  our  foreign  and  domestic  com¬ 
merce,  without  being  in  debt  beyond  the  limits  of  our  own^tate. 
Now  I  ask,  how  we  shall  stand,  compared  with  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Alabama,  Georgia,  or  Louisiana,  when  the  day  of  finan¬ 
cial  trial  shall  come.  1  do  not  deny  we  shall  suffer,  but  as  it 
has  been  in  times  past,  we  shall  go  into  and  come  out  of  the 
troubles  far  stronger  than  any  other  State  out  of  New  England. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  present  to  you  the  balance  sheet  of 
Massachusetts,  but  it  is  due  to  her  character,  and  her  dignity, 
that  she  should  stand  before  you  in  her  true  position.  I  have 
never  advocated  a  protective  tariff  for  my  own  or  the  New 
England  States  exclusively,  nor  have  those  gentlemen  with 
whom  I  have  been  associated  in  this  cause,  at  anytime,  enter¬ 
tained  a  narrow  or  sectional  view  of  the  question.  We  have 
believed  it  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  whole  country,  that  its 
labor  should  be  protected,  and  so  far  as  I  have  had  to  do  with 
the  adjustment  of  those  difficult  combinations  embraced  in  a 
tariff  bill,  I  have  endeavored  to  take  care  that  the  interests  of 
all  the  States  were  protected,  whether  they  were  large  or  small. 
I  say  now  to  you,  and  it  should  be  said  in  Congress,  and  to 
the  country,  that  Massachusetts  asks  no  exclusive  legislation. 
If  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  Ohio,  the  three  great  States, 
with  Kentucky,  Georgia,  Missouri,  Alabama  and  Louisiana, 
wish  to  try  an  experiment  on  iron,  coal,  hemp,  cotton  bagging, 
sugar,  &c.,  &c.,  I  am  ready,  as  one  citizen  of  Massachusetts, 
to  meet  it,  and  await  in  patient  submission  the  result,  which  I 
doubt  not  will  be  found,  within  eighteen  months,  in  the  reali- 
3 


18 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


zation  of  all  I  have  predicted.  I  say  again,  I  would  not,  if  I 
could,  have  a  tariff  made  for  Massachusetts  alone.  If,  how¬ 
ever,  there  should  be  a  new  one,  let  ovr  interests,  with  those 
of  every  other  in  the  Union,  share  that  protection  to  which  we 
are  all  entitled,  and  of  which  we  claim  our  full  share.  I  can 
with  confidence  assure  you,  that  we  shall  go  upward  and  on¬ 
ward.  We  will  work.  If  12  hours’  labor  in  the  24  will  not 
sustain  us,  we  can,  and  will  work  14 ;  and  at  the  same  time 
feel  that  Congress  cannot  take  the  sinews  from  our  arms, 
or  rob  us  of  the  intelligence  acquired  from  our  public 
schools,  established  by  the  foresight  and  wisdom  of  our 
fathers. 

At  the  risk  of  writing  a  long  letter,  I  cannot  forbear  alluding 
to  th%fact,  that  the  habitual  agitation  of  this  question  of  the 
tariff,  has  worked,  in  the  main,  to  the  advantage  of  New  Eng¬ 
land. 

We  were,  previous  to  the  war  of  1812,  an  agricultural  and 
navigating  people.  The  American  system  was  forced  upon  us, 
and  was  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  home  market  for 
the  products  of  the  soil  of  the  South  and  West;  we  resisted  the 
adoption  of  a  system,  which,  we  honestly  believed,  would  great¬ 
ly  injure  our  navigation,  and  drive  us  from  our  accustomed 
employments,  into  a  business  we  did  not  understand.  We  came 
into  it,  however,  reluctantly,  and  soon  learned  that,  with  the 
transfer  of  our  capital,  we  acquired  skill  and  knowledge  in  the 
use  of  it — and  that,  so  far  from  our  foreign  commerce  being 
diminished,  it  was  increased,  and  that  our  domestic  tonnage 
and  commerce  were  very  soon  more  than  quadrupled.  The 
illustrations  were  so  striking  in  every  department  of  labor, 
that  those  who,  fifteen  years  ago,  were  the  strongest  opponents 
of  the  protective  tariff  among  us,  have  given  up  their  theo¬ 
ries,  and  acknowledged  that  the  revelations  are  such  as  to 
satisfy  the  most  skeptical.  We  have  gone  forward  steadily, 
till  many  descriptions  of  manufactures  are  as  well  settled  in 
New  England  as  the  raising  of  potatoes.  Our  experience  has 
given  us  skill — and,  of  course,  we  have  confidence  in  our  own 
resources,  that  does  not  exist  elsewhere. 

When  I  converse  with  gentlemen  from  the  South  and  West, 
respecting  the  establishment  of  manufactures — they  reply  that 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  IT. 


19 


they  should  long  ago  have  engaged  in  them,  but  the  repeal  of 
the  tariff,  the  action  of  the  government,  prevented  them.  Now 
you  cannot  blame  us,  if  this  constant  agitation  of  the  tariff 
question  has  tended  to  give  New  England  not  a  monopoly, 
but  advantages  which  she  has  not  been  instrumental  in  bring¬ 
ing  about.  I  have  no  doubt  we  have  been  gainers,  on  the 
whole,  by  these  agitations,  yet  we  have  at  times  been  great 
sufferers.  I  wish  those  States  that  have  withheld  their  ener¬ 
gies  from  entering  upon  these  industrial  pursuits,  to  examine 
this  matter — and,  if  I  am  right,  to  take  an  observation  o.nd  a 
new  departure.  We  have  no  jealousy,  whatever,  concerning 
the  establishment  of  manufactories  in  all  parts  of  the  country; 
on  the  contrary,  I  believe  those  gentlemen  from  the  South  and 
West,  who  have  been  here,  will  bear  witness  to  the  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  people  who  are  engaged  in  manufactures,  to 
impart  all  the  information  in  their  power ;  there  is  room  for 
us  all.  When  the  southern  and  western  States  shall  manu¬ 
facture  their  own  clothing,  we  shall  have  become  extensive 
exporters  of  the  variety  of  manufactures  produced  here.  We 
have  the  ships,  and  the  men  to  navigate  them.  We  shall 
pursue  an  extensive  foreign  commerce  with  manufactures,  and 
bring  home  the  produce  of  other  countries,  such  as  coffee, 
tea,  &c.,  &c.,  and  pay  for  the  produce  of  the  South  and  West, 
with  foreign  luxuries,  and  necessaries  of  life.  It  has  often 
been  said  here  by  us,  who  advocate  protection  to  American 
labor,  that  in  wearing  British  cottons,  woolens,  &c.,  &c.,  we 
were  consuming  British  wheat,  beef,  pork,  &c.  I  am  happy 
to  find  authority  of  the  highest  respectability  for  this  opinion, 
in  the  person  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  merchants,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  best  and  most  honorable  men  in  England,  Mr. 
William  Brown,  of  Liverpool — lately  the  free  trade  candidate 
for  Parliament,  from  the  county  of  Lancaster.  In  a  letter  to 
John  Rolfe,  Esq.,  a  landholder,  upon  the  advantages  of  free 
trade,  he  says  :  ‘Wou  next  allude  to  the  League  wishing  to 
injure  you.  I  presume  it  will  not  be  denied,  that  all  interests 
in  the  Kingdom  are  so  linked  together,  that  none  of  them  can 
suffer  without  the  others  being  injured.  We  must  sink  or 
swim  together  !  Paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  I  think  Great 
Britain  is  the  largest  grain  exporting  country  in  the  world, 


20 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


although  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  accurately  what  quantity 
of  grain,  &c.,  is  consumed  in  preparing  £50,000,000  value  of 
exports,  by  which  you  are  so  greatly  benefited.  It  is  placed 
in  the  laboratory  of  that  wonderful  intellectual  machine,  man, 
which  gives  him  the  physical  power,  aided  by  steam,  of  con¬ 
verting  it  into  broadcloth,  calico,  hardware,  &c.,  &c.,  and  in 
these  shapes,  your  wheats  find  their  way  to  every  country  in 
the  world.’’ 

I  thank  Mr.  Brown  for  the  clear  statement  he  has  presented, 
of  the  importance  of  a  home  market,  and  commend  this  ex¬ 
tract  from  his  letter,  to  the  consideration  of  every  farmer  in 
the  United  States;  it  is  perfectly  sound,  and  applies  with 
particular  force  to  our  present  condition.  To  place  the  peo¬ 
ple  in  a  condition  of  permanent  and  solid  prosperity,  we 
must  encourage  home  industry,  by  obtaining  the  greatest 
amount  of  production;  this  can  only  be  obtained  by  diversi¬ 
fying  labor,  which  will  bring  with  it  high  wages  ;  and  unless 
the  labor  is  well  paid,  our  country  cannot  prosper.  Agricul¬ 
ture,  the  foundation  of  all  wealth,  depends  on  production,  and 
a  market  for  those  products.  The  encouragement  of  agricul¬ 
ture,  is  found  in  the  establishment  of  manufactures,  which  if 
maintained,  will  be  certain  to  secure  a  market. 

I  ask  the  farmer  to  look  for  a  moment  at  the  following 
statement :  American  flour  in  Cuba  pays  a  duty  of  about  f  10 
per  barrel ;  in  Rio  Janeiro  $5  to  $6,  and  in  many  other  ports 
the  duties  vary  from  50  to  150  per  cent ;  in  return,  we  take 
coffee,  most  of  which  we  pay  for  in  coin,  free  of  duty — and 
this  is  free  trade.  We  have,  too,  treaties  of  reciprocity  with 
foreign  countries;  and  among  others.  Great  Britain,  (not  in¬ 
cluding  her  colonies,)  by  which  her  ships  are  admitted  into 
our  ports  on  the  same  terms  as  our  own  ;  they  come  freighted 
with  her  minerals  and  manufactures,  which  are  sold  here,  and 
take  in  return  a  variety  of  articles,  the  produce  of  the  United 
States;  such  as  timber,  lumber,  fish,  &c.,  touch  at  New 
Brunswick  or  some  other  colony,  and  go  home  free  of  duty. 
We  have,  too,  triangular  voyages,  made  from  England  to 
Jamaica,  and  other  British  islands,  with  cargoes,  and  thence 
to  the  southern  States,  where  they  load  with  cotton,  tobacco, 
and  other  produce,  for  England ;  this,  too,  is  called  free  trade, 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  IT. 


21 


I  will  not  pursue  this  branch  of  the  subject,  but  give  you  a 
fact.  Not  long  since,  the  foreign  carrying  trade  was  nearly 
all  in  our  own  hands;  now  the  reciprocity  system,  not  inclu¬ 
ding  the  colonies  of  foreign  nations,  gives  to  foreigners  more 
than  one  third  of  all  the  carrying  trade  of  the  United  States !  ! 
I  cannot  believe  the  time  is  far  distant,  when  the  government 
of  the  United  States  will  protest,  as  it  ought,  the  foreign  navi¬ 
gating  interest  of  this  great  country.  If  we  would  have 
American  seamen  to  man  our  navy,  the  mercantile  marine 
must  be  protected  in  the  carrying  of  our  own  productions.  One 
more  fact,  and  I  will  close  these  long,  and  I  fear  you  will  think, 
desultory  remarks.  Some  years  since,  a  few  bales  of  Ameri¬ 
can  coarse  cottons  v/ere  sent  from  this  country  to  Hindostan, 
as  a  commercial  experiment;  the  superiority  of  the  fabric,  and 
the  material  of  which  it  was  made,  gradually  brought  the 
goods  into  notice  and  use  in  that  country,  and  the  annual  ex¬ 
portation  from  the  United  States  increased  from  a  few  bales 
up  to  3  and  4000  per  annum.  The  British  manufacturers 
were  much  annoyed  at  this  interference,  and  it  is  presumed 
that  it  was  through  their  influence  that  the  East  India  Com¬ 
pany  (the  government  of  that  country)  have  repeatedly  aug¬ 
mented  the  discriminating  duty  on  these  goods,  (which  are 
called  drillings,)  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  their  own  man¬ 
ufactures  against  those  of  the  United  States ;  prior  to  1836, 
the  duty  was  five  per  cent  in  favor  of  British  goods ;  in  that 
year  it  was  increased  to  8|  per  cent ;  a  few  years  after,  aug¬ 
mented  to  lOJ  per  cent,  and  even  this  rate  of  differential  duty 
proved  insufficient  to  keep  out  the  Americans,  who  drove  a 
profitable  trade  notwithstanding  the  great  difference  against 
them. 

And  now,  within  a  few  months,  the  East  India  Company 
have  been  compelled  again  to  increase  the  discriminating 
duty  to  15  per  cent,  in  order  to  exclude  our  goods  altogether  ; 
and  this  difference  will,  without  doubt,  accomplish  the  object. 
These  facts  are  deserving  of  a  passing  remark,  as  illustrative 
of  the  energies  and  resources  of  the  United  States.  As  late  as 
the  declaration  of  the  last  war  in  1812,  this  country  imported 
almost  all  its  coarse  cotton  fabrics  from  Hindostan,  whence 
they  came  literally  by  ship  loads,  and  were  paid  for  almost 


22 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


altogether  in  coin.  No  country  seemed  to  be  more  abundant 
in  means  necessary  to  supply  such  goods  cheaply,  than  Hin- 
dostan ;  its  soil  furnished  an  abundance  of  cotton,  which, 
though  not  of  equal  quality  to  that  of  the  United  States,  was 
much  less  in  price,  and  labor  was  cheaper  than  in  any  country 
in  the  world.  Cotton  spinning  machinery  was  available 
through  the  medium  of  British  capital,  and  the  manufactures 
received  a  protection  of  10|  per  cent  against  foreign  inter¬ 
ference.  No  country  seemed  more  secure  from  foreign  compe¬ 
tition  in  these  goods,  than  Hindostan,  and  least  of  all,  was 
there  fear  of  competition  from  the  United  States ;  a  country 
15,000  miles  distant,  where  a  day’s  labor  will  earn  about  25 
pounds  of  good  rice,  whilst  in  Hindostan  it  obtains  less  than 
10  pounds  of  very  inferior  rice.  But  the  American  planter 
furnished  better  raw  cotton ;  the  manufacturer,  a  better  and 
cheaper  fabric;  the  ship  owner,  a  speedy  and  cheaper  con¬ 
veyance.  Their  united  efforts  drove  the  British  manufacturer 
of  these  coarse  goods  from  the  largest  British  Colonial  market, — 
a  market  which  the  Americans  would  now  be  in  possession  of, 
but  for  the  interposition  of  the  East  India  Company,  with  an¬ 
other  protective  duty  to  sustain  their  manufactories.  I  have  no 
fault  to  find  with  the  course  pursued  by  the  British,  in  these 
regulations.  I  have  introduced  these  facts,  to  exhibit  to  you 
the  transcendant  folly  of  attempting  a  system  of  low  duties 
and  free  trade,  where  it  is  all  on  one  side.  I  have  not  yet 
known  the  British  government  to  reduce  the  duties  to  a  point 
that  has  reached  a  single  important  interest.  Their  free  trade 
and  low  duties  never  apply  to  any  article  that  seriously  com¬ 
petes  with  their  own  labor,  nor  are  they  likely  to  adopt  such 
measures.  The  free  trade  of  the  political  economists  of  Great 
Britain, -is  a  transcendental  philosophy,  which  is  not  likely  to 
be  adopted  by  any  government  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  unless 
it  be  the  Chinese,  and  we  have  already  the  earnest  of  the 
effect  of  low  duties  on  the  internal  condition  of  that  country. 
The  trade  of  that  empire  is  fast  approaching  to  barter ;  the 
precious  metals  having  been  drained,  to  pay  for  the  foreign 
products  introduced  into  it. 

I  am  aware  that  I  have  written  a  long  letter,  but  I  could 
not  well  abridge  it,  consistently,  with  glancing  at  many  topics 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  11. 


23 


in  which  I  take  a  deep  interest.  The  subject  is  boundless, 
and  I  would  cheerfully  carry  out  by  illustrations,  and  exam¬ 
ples,  many  of  the  points,  upon  which  I  have  touched,  but  I 
forbear  for  the  present.  When  I  have  the  pleasure  to  meet 
you,  we  can  discuss  all  these  questions,  embracing  not  only 
the  present  condition,  but  the  future  prospects  and  destiny  of 
our  beloved  country,  for  which  I  entertain  the  strongest  attach¬ 
ment.  Our  strength  and  glory  is  in  upholding  and  maintain¬ 
ing  the  Union. 

I  shall  send,  in  a  few  days,  statistics  furnished  me  by  a 
friend,  who  is  intelligent,  careful  and  accurate  in  these  mat¬ 
ters,  and  who  holds  himself  responsible  for  all  that  will  be 
stated. 

I  pray  you,  my  dear  sir,  to  accept  the  assurances  with 
which  I  remain,  most  faithfully,  your  friend,  and  obedient 
servant,  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE. 

To  the  Hon.  William  C.  Rives, 

Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 


24 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


MR.  LAWRENCE  TO  MR.  RIVES. 

NUMBER  T  I  I  . 

Boston,  Feb.  23,  1816. 

My  Dear  Sir  : 

When  I  wrote  to  you  on  the  16th  of  last  month,  I  pro¬ 
posed  to  present  in  another  letter  some  facts  in  regard  to  the 
progress  of  the  spinning  of  cotton,  since  the  first  high  protec¬ 
tive  tariff  in  1816,  to  the  cotton  year,  ending  31st  of  August, 
1845. 

These  facts  I  shall  offer  for  the  special  consideration  of  those 
who  inhabit  the  cotton  growing  region  of  our  country  ;  and  of 
those  who  brought  forward  and  carried  that  law  through  Con¬ 
gress. 

The  tariff  law  of  1816  was  founded  in  wisdom,  and  I  am 
ready  here  to  make  my  acknowledgments  to  those  distin¬ 
guished  statesmen  of  the  cotton  growing  States,  who  success¬ 
fully  consummated  an  act  that  has  done  so  much  to  promote 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole  Union. 

The  primary  object  on  the  part  of  those  members  of  Con¬ 
gress  representing  the  cotton  planting  States,  in  establishing  a 
high  protective  tariff,  was  to  extend  the  consumption  of  their 
great  staple  in  this  country,  by  excluding  foreign  made  cotton 
fabrics,  and  substituting  a  domestic  article,  manufactured  of 
American  cotton.  I  think  the  authors  of  the  tariff  law  of  1816 
may  congratulate  themselves  and  their  countrymen,  on  the 
complete  success  that  has  followed  from  the  adoption  of  the 
minimum  of  twenty-five  cents  the  square  yard,  contained 
in  that  bill.  Under  its  beneficial  operation  we  have  been  en¬ 
abled  to  supply  our  own  population  with  cottons  of  the  coarse 
and  middling  qualities,  and  to  export  to  foreign  countries  to 
the  amount  of  four  or  five  millions  of  dollars  annually, — for 
which  we  receive  in  payment,  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  hides,  copper, 
&c.  These  goods,  the  product  of  our  own  labor,  have  become 
a  substitute  for  coin,  in  the  several  countries  to  which  they 
.  are  shipped. 

It  would  seem  that  the  founders  of  this  system  of  high  pro- 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  III. 


25 


tection  to  labor  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  its  results,  as  the 
quantity  of  cotton  now  spun  in  the  United  States  is  far  greater 
than  the  most  sanguine  of  its  friends  anticipated  in  1816.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  a  statement  made  up  by  Mr.  P.  T.  Jackson  and  Mr. 
John  A.  Lowell,  for  the  use  of  the  tariff  convention  held  in 
New  York,  in  1832,  the  home  consumption  of  cotton  prior  to 
the  passage  of  the  act  of  1816,  was  eleven  millions  of  pounds, 
being  about  three  eights  of  the  quantity  now  spun  at  Lowell. 

The  quantity  spun  in  Great  Britian  in  1816,  was  eighty- 
eight  millions  of  pounds.  There  are  no  data  to  be  relied  upon 
for  continuous  returns  of  home  consumption,  between  1816  and 
1825-1826. 

In  1826-27,  the  returns  were  made  in  a  New  York  price 
current,  and  they  have  since  been  continued,  and  are  deemed 
to  be  as  correct  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit. 

In  1826-27,  the  amount  spun  in  the  United  States  was  103,- 
483  bales,  which  we  may  estimate  at  330  lbs.  each,  [net  of 
tare]  equal  to  34,149,390  lbs. 

In  the  same  year,  the  quantity  spun  in  Great  Britain  was 
197,200,000  pounds.  From  1828  to  1830  was  a  period  of  em¬ 
barrassment  and  distress  among  manufacturers^  consequently 
the  consumption  of  1829-30  was  only  126,512  bales,  of  about 
345  pounds  each,  amounting  to  43,646,640  pounds ;  while  the 
consumption  in  Great  Britain  was  247,600,000  pounds.  At 
this  period  some  of  our  southern  friends,  who  had  been  fore¬ 
most  in  advocating  home  manufactures,  and  had  counted 
largely  on  the  benefits  anticipated  by  them  in  1816,  from  the 
operation  of  the  protective  policy,  (as  greatly  augmenting  the 
consumption  of  their  staple,)  began  to  manifest  dissatisfaction, 
with  what  they  considered  the  slow  progress  of  our  cotton 
manufactures.  The  idea  entertained,  and  put  forth,  was, 
that  we  should  never  require  so  much,  as  to  bear  any  consid¬ 
erable  proportion  to  the  consumption  of  Great  Britain.  This, 
as  will  be  shown,  was  a  false  view  of  the  case,  and  has  proved 
a  capital  error. 

In  1832-33,  the  quantity  spun  at  home  reached  194,412 
bales,  averaging  perhaps  360  pounds  each  ;  in  1835-36,  236,- 
733  bales;  in  1837-^38,246,063  bales;  in  1839-’ 40,  295,193 


4 


26 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


bales;  in  1841-M2,  there  was  deep  commercial  and  manufac¬ 
turing  distress,  and  the  consumption  receded  to  267,850  bales. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1842,  and  in  1843,  after  the  present 
tariff  law  went  into  operation,  a  revival  of  business  through¬ 
out  the  country  took  place,  and  brought  up  the  amount  spun 
to  325,129  bales. 

In  1844-45,  (year  ending  31st  of  August  last,)  the  amount 
spun  was  339,006  bales.  There  is  a  quantity  of  cotton  con¬ 
sumed  in  the  interior  of  the  States,  which,  never  having  reached 
the  seaports,  is  not  included  in  the  New  York  statement,  that 
has  been  estimated  to  be  at  least  41,000  bales ;  we  shall  there¬ 
fore  estimate  the  total  quantity  at  430,000  bales,  of  410  pounds 
each,  net,  making  a  total  of  176,300,000  pounds  as  the  con¬ 
sumption  last  year,  against  11,000,000  pounds  in  1816— being 
a  period  of  29  years. 

The  consumption  in  Great  Britain  has  gone  on  steadily  in¬ 
creasing,  but  not  in  so  rapid  a  ratio  as  in  the  United  States. 
The  returns  for  1845  have  been  received,  and  amount  to 
560,000,000  pounds  against  176,300,000  pounds  in  the  United 
States.  Thus  the  increase  in  the  United  States  from  1816  to 
1845,  has  extended  from  11,000,000  to  176,300,000  pounds  in 
29  years,  being  an  augmentation  of  sixteenfold.  The  increase 
in  Great  Britain  in  the  same  period  of  time  has  been  from  88,- 
700,000  pounds,  to  560,000,000  pounds;  being  an  augmenta¬ 
tion  of  less  than  sevenfold,  against  an  increase  in  the  United 
States  of  sixteenfold. 

These  are  not  only  striking,  but  important  facts,  and  pre¬ 
sent  a  view  of  the  case,  which  refutes  the  anticipations  of 
those  who  entertained  different  opinions  of  the  future  increase 


*  Quantity  of  Yarns  spun  in  Great  Britain  in  1845 : 
494,000,000  pounds. 

Exported  in  Yarns,  134,500,000  lbs,  valued  at 

12d,  24cts, 

Exported  in  manufactures,  202,360,000  lbs,  valued  at 
18id,  361cts, 

Consumed  at  home,  158,000,000  lbs,  valued  at 

40cts,  - 


494,860,000 

Whole  value  of  cotton  manufactured  in  England, 


$32,280,000 
73,000,000 
63,200,000 
$  168,380,000 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  III. 


27 


of  the  spinning  of  cotton  in  this  country,  fifteen  years  ago.  I 
cannot  but  hope  that  the  views  and  opinions  of  some  of  the 
prominent  men  of  the  South  may  undergo  a  change,  when 
they  examine  this  question  dispassionately;  and  that  they 
will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  deeply  interested  in 
the  spinning,  as  well  as  in  the  producing  of  cotton,  at  home. 
As  regards  the  future,  if  the  general  peace  of  the  world  bo 
maintained,  and  the  leading  business  concerns  of  the  country 
are  not  disturbed  by  the  legislative  action  of  the  federal  gov¬ 
ernment,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  increased  home  demand 
for  cotton,  should  not  go  on  in  as  rapid  a  ratio  as  during  the 
past.  This  would  be  doubling  the  present  consumption  in  a 
little  more  than  eight  years. 

There  are  now  an  immense  number  of  spindles  under  con¬ 
struction  in  a  majority  of  the  States,  (probably  not  less  than 
500,000 ;)  .all  of  which  are  intended  to  be  in  operation  before 
the  first  of  January,  1850,  and  the  probability  is,  that  at  that 
time,  the  quantity  of  cotton  spun,  will  reach  650,000  bales,  of 
410  pounds  each,  or  266,500,000  pounds.  There  will,  also,  be 
a  great  increase  in  Great  Britain,  but  not  in  the  same  propor¬ 
tion  ;  as  we  possess  some  advantages  in  the  manufacture  of 
heavy  goods,  which  are  not  enjoyed  in  England.  So  long  as 
we  produce  better  goods,  and  can  maintain  our  superiority 
abroad,  there  will  be  a  constantly  increasing  export  demand ; 
which  is  of  great  value  to  the  whole  country.  Upon  a  review 
of  this  branch  of  industry,  it  appears  to  me  that  its  future 
prospects  are  excellent,  if  not  disturbed  by  bad  banking,  and 
(what  is  still  more  pernicious  to  all  branches  of  business,)  un¬ 
stable  and  unwise  legislation. 

The  tariff*  has  already  been  altered  several  times,  (I  believe 
six  or  seven  )  since  1816. 

If  the  present  movement  against  the  act  of  1842  shall  suc¬ 
ceed,  in  accordance  with  Mr.  Walker’s  plan,  it  must  be  fol¬ 
lowed  soon  by  a  counter  movement ;  if  not  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  the  government  itself  will  recommend  it,  for  revenue. 

It  may  be  truly  asserted  that  the  coarse  cotton  fabrics,  such 
as  are  worn  by  the  laboring  classes,  are  sold  as  cheap  here  as 
in  England,  or  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Of  course  there  is 


28 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


no  further  burden  imposed  on  the  consumers  of  this  descrip¬ 
tion  of  home  made  goods.  It  has  been  said  that  the  existing 
duties  on  cotton  goods  prevent  importations  of  almost  every 
kind.  This  is  so  far  from  the  fact,  that  for  the  last  three 
years,  the  amount  of  cotton,  and  mixed  cotton  and  worsted 
fabrics,  printed  and  plain,  imported,  have  been  larger  than  in 
former  years,  having  ranged  from  $10,000,000  to  $13,000,000. 
This  large  amount  is  of  the  finer  descriptions,  and  such  as  are 
worn  by  the  fashionable  and  rich.  We  shall  continue  to  im¬ 
port  largely  of  these  luxuries,  so  long  as  our  people  have  sur¬ 
plus  means  to  expend  in  dress;  and  the  permanent  revenue, 
under  the  present  system,  will  be  much  greater  than  under 
that  proposed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  why  not  reduce  the 
duties  on  cottons,  if  you  can  sell  them  so  low?  I  answer  that 
the  duty  now  is  nearly  inoperative,  entirely  so  on  some  kinds, 
such,  for  example,  as  are  exported  in  large  quantities.  If  the 
duties  were  reduced  materially  on  the  coarse  goods,  I  should 
interpose  no  objection,  provided  ample  protection  was  main¬ 
tained  on  the  middling  and  fine  qualities.  This  is  a  matter  to 
be  carefully  arranged  by  practical  men.  We  have  now  cer¬ 
tainly  nothing  to  fear  in  the  manufacture  of  yarns,  as  high  as 
No.  14 — so  far,  we  can  go  on  without  protection,  but  the 
higher  numbers  require  protection,  and  it  should  be  a  specific 
duty.  The  law,  as  it  now  stands,  although  inoperative  on 
coarse  cloth,  gives  confidence  to  the  investment  of  capital  in 
machinery,  for  the  manufacture  of  finer  fabrics, — in  fact  a  very 
large  amount  is  already  invested  in  mills,  which  produce  yarns 
and  cloth  as  high  as  No.  60.  Without  protection,  and  that  in 
form  of  specific  duties,  there  will  be  no  increase  of  machinery 
adapted  to  the  middling  and  fine  fabrics.  The  great  amount 
of  printed  calicoes  require  protection,  and  will  suffer  severely 
without  it.  I  will  not  dwell  longer  on  this  subject  of  cotton. 
I  trust  I  have  presented  facts  to  satisfy  the  cotton  planter,  that 
his  interests  have  been  promoted  by  creating  another  market, 
and  a  larger  one,  too,  for  the  spinning  of  his  staple.  We  actually 
consume  [wear]  more  pounds  of  cotton  in  this  country,  than 
is  consumed  in  Great  Britain — since  more  than  two-thirds  of 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES.  NO.  III. 


29 


the  quantity  spun  in  that  country  is  exported  in  the  form  of 
yarns  and  cloth.  We  work  up  more  than  France,  and  quite 
as  much  as  60,000,000  Germans.  Our  consuming  ability 
of  this,  and  all  other  comforts  of  life,  is  beyond  that  of  an 
equal  number  of  persons  of  any  other  country,  and  five  times 
as  great  as  that  of  Russia. 

The  factories  of  only  Massachusetts  and  a  neighboring 
State,  spin  annually  180,000  bales  of  cotton. 

We  received  one  million  of  barrels  of  flour  (more  than  the 
whole  export  of  the  United  States  to  foreign  countries)  the 
last  year.  The  amount  of  products  of  States  out  of  New 
England,  taken  by  Massachusetts  the  last  year,  amounted  to 
$40,000,000,  in  cotton,  lead,  wool,  sugar,  coal,  iron,  flour, 
grain  of  all  sorts,  pork,  beef,  lard,  tobacco,  rice,  &c.,  &c. ;  for 
which  we  paid  in  the  products  of  our  labor ;  and  this  is  a 
steady  and  increasing  market  for  the  articles  I  have  named. 

In  fact,  Massachusetts  (not  to  speak  of  the  other  New  Eng¬ 
land  States,  which  are  all  large  consumers)  aflbrds  greater 
support  to  the  Agricultural  and  planting  States,  South  and 
W^est,  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  and  greater  support 
to  the  strictly  Agricultural  States,  than  all  foreign  countries. 
The  tariff  of  1842  was  enacted  as  much  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Southern  and  Western  States,  as  for  Massachusetts,  and  they 
have  derived  as  much  advantage  from  it  in  proportion  to  their 
capital.  Of  the  truth  of  this  declaration,  they  will  be  satisfied, 
after  a  year’s  experience  under  Mr.  Walker’s  plan  of  low  ad 
valorem  duties. 

The  notion  is  prevalent,  I  am  fully  aware,  that  the  North¬ 
ern  and  Eastern  States,  engaged  in  manufacturing,  enjoy  the 
principal  benefits  from  the  present  tariff.  But  this  is  not  the 
case.  By  reference  to  the  following  quantities  of  protected 
articles,  produced  out  of  New  England,  almost  wholly,  you 
will  see  that  there  are  other  great  protected  interests  in  the 
country,  besides  the  manufacture  of  cotton  and  wool.  The 
duties  on  these  are  from  40  to  100  per  cent,  and  on  spirits  to 
a  greater  extent.  There  are  produced  from 

450  to  500,000  tons  of  iron. 

220,000,000  pounds  of  sugar. 

20,000,000  pounds  maple  sugar. 


30 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


9  to  12,000,000  gallons  of  molasses. 

5  to  7,000,000  tons  of  coal. 

50  to  60,000,000  pounds  of  wool. 

10,000,000  bushels  salt. 

60  to  70,000,000  gallons  of  spirits,  mostly  from  grain. 

12  to  15,000,000  yards  of  cotton  bagging. 

20,000,000  pounds  bale  rope  and  twine. 

80  to  90,000  tons  of  hemp  and  flax. 

To  this  list  might  be  added  twenty  minor  articles,  worth  in 
the  aggregate,  more  than  the  whole  amount  of  cotton  fabrics 
produced  in  the  United  States. 

Iron,  we  still  import  to  the  amount  of  70  to  80,000  tons,  in¬ 
cluding  nearly  all  used  on  rail-roads,  which  can  and  will  be 
produced  at  home,  as  soon  as  increased  capital  is  acquired. 
We  now  produce  more  iron  than  France  or  Russia,  or  any  other 
country,  save  Great  Britain,  whose  product  is  now  1,500,000 
tons. 

Within  a  few  years  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  product 
of  iron  will  be  doubled,  provided  the  prosperity  of  the  country 
is  not  interfered  with  by  experiments  made  by  Congress  on  the 
labor  and  currency  of  the  country,  which  is  a  greater  discour¬ 
agement  to  branches  of  business  requiring  a  large  fixed  capi¬ 
tal,  than  is  imagined  by  many  of  our  legislators  who  make  and 
unmake  tariffs. 

It  is  estimated  that  at  the  present  prices  of  sugar,  the  culti¬ 
vation,  in  a  very  brief  period  of  time,  will  be  extended  to  the 
required  home  consumption,  now  about  300,000,000  pounds, 
which  in  ten  years  may  be  500,000,000  pounds.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  best  interests  of  the  nation  require  that  the 
present  duty  on  sugar  should  be  maintained  with  other  pro¬ 
tective  duties.  This  extension  of  sugar  cultivation  will  em¬ 
ploy  a  large  amount  of  labor,  now  devoted  to  the  production 
of  cotton. 

It  would  seem  that  several  States  of  this  Union,  might  with 
profit  multiply  the  occupations  of  labor.  It  appears  to  me, 
they  require  new  sources  of  support,  and  the  progress  and  con¬ 
dition  of  their  population,  with  the  amount  of  production,  pre¬ 
sent  to  the  reflecting  portion  of  the  people  a  strong  argument, 
in  favor  of  such  new  sources ;  I  will  state  a  few  facts. 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  III. 


31 


The  State  of  Virginia  contains  64,000  square  miles;  had  in 
1840,  1,239,797  inhabitants;  being  less  than  19  to  the  square 
mile  ;  gross  products,  according  to  Professor  Tucker,  $76,769,- 
053. 

New  York  contains  46,000  square  miles;  had  in  1840, 
2,498,617  inhabitants;  products  in  the  same  year,  $193,806,- 
433 ;  add  the  product  of  navigation,  as  distinct  from  commerce, 
which  is  omitted,  on  650,000  tons  shipping,  $20,000,000;  ma¬ 
king  in  the  aggregate,  $213,000,000. 

In  1790,  by  the  first  census,  Virginia  had  12  persons  to  the 
square  mile,  and  New  York  7J;  now,  Virginia  contains  19, 
and  New  York  53  to  the  square  mile. 

In  1820,  Virginia  had  a  population  of  1,065,379  ;  in  1830, 
1,211,405  ;  in  1840,  1,239,797.  New  York  in  1820, 1,372,812; 
in  1830,  1,918,608;  in  1840,  2,428,921. 

In  1850,  New  York  will  probably  contain  nearly  3,000,000, 
and  Virginia  say  1,260,000.  These  facts,  one  would  suppose, 
would  be  sufficient  to  induce  the  people  of  Virginia  to  introduce 
new  branches  of  industry,  and  to  establish  the  modern  internal 
improvements  for  transportation,  that  the  rich  resources  of  the 
State  may  be  developed.  The  condition  of  the  two  Carolinas 
is  much  the  same  as  Virginia.  The  population  of  North  and 
South  Carolina,  in  1830,  was  1,319,172;  in  1840,  1,347,817 — 
increase  2^  per  cent  in  ten  years,  (principally  in  North 
Carolina.) 

Even  in  Great  Britain,  the  increase  in  the  same  time  was 
11  per  cent.  In  Massachusetts,  although  there  were  81^ 
to  the  square  mile  in  1830,  against  17  in  the  Carolinas,  there 
was  an  increase  of  21  per  cent  from  1830  to  1840.  The 
aggregate  products  of  the  two  Carolinas  in  1840  was  $59,595,- 
734,  with  a  population  of  1,347,817.  The  products  of  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  with  a  population  of  less  than  800,000  people, 
amounted  at  the  same  time  to  $100,000,000,  and  now  the 
products  of  labor  and  capital  are  more  than  $120,000,000. 

I  have  introduced  these  statements  for  the  purpose  of  exhib¬ 
iting  fairly  the  true  condition  of  some  of  the  old  States,  and  to 
awaken  the  public  mind  in  those  Slates  to  the  importance  of 
bringing  .out  their  productive  labor,  by  introducing  new 


32 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


branches  of  business,  in  order  that  the  industrial  classes  may 
be  profitably  employed,  and  to  show  that  the  three  States 
named,  have  as  great  a  stake  in  protecting  the  labor  of  the 
country,  as  any  other  in  the  Union.  They  have  now  but 
little  else  than  soil  and  physical  power  remaining.  You  pos¬ 
sess  but  a  small  amount  of  productive  power,  in  the  form  of 
rail-roads  and  labor-saving  machines.  You  have  a  deep  inter¬ 
est  in  common  with  all  the  States,  in  upholding  the  labor  of 
the  country.  You  seem  to  be  satisfied  that  the  time  has  come 
when  something  should  be  done  to  improve  the  condition  of 
your  people.  The  people  of  Virginia,  with  South  and  North 
Carolina,  (particularly  the  two  former  States)  have  pursued  a 
policy  that  has  brought  them,  so  far  as  population  is  concerned, 
to  a  stationary  condition  :  and  from  present  indications,  I 
should  not  be  surprised  to  see  Eastern  Virginia  and  South 
Carolina  with  a  less  number  of  people  in  1850,  than  they  con¬ 
tained  in  1840. 

If  you  propose  now  to  enter  upon  those  pursuits  that  are 
certain  in  their  operations  to  give  employment,  and  that  of  a 
profitable  kind  to  your  people,  and  to  create  a  market  at  home 
for  your  agricultural  products,  what  object  can  there  be  in 
transferring  our  workshops  to  Great  Britain?  The  South  and 
West  have  every  motive  to  give  efficient  protection  to  the  la¬ 
bor  of  the  whole  Union  ;  first,  because  those  employed  in  the 
mechanical  and  manufacturing  arts,  are  the  best  customers 
for  your  agricultural  products;  and,  secondly,  because  you 
desire  to  engage  in  those  departments  of  labor  yourselves.  I 
say  then,  look  well  to  this  project,  now  under  consideration  at 
Washington,  to  change  our  whole  revenue  system.  There  is 
one  principle  upon  which  every  government,  and  every  com¬ 
mercial  community,  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  agree 
throughout  the  world ;  and  that  is,  to  establish  specific  duties, 
or  a  valuation  of  their  oivn.  Mr.  Walker  has  reversed  this 
decision,  and  recommends  ad  valorem  duties  on  an  alleged 
valuation  abroad.  I  deem  this  feature  in  the  bill,  a  violation 
of  sound  principle,  and  such  as  must  be  condemned  by  men  of 
all  parties,  whose  experience  and  knowledge  are  of  value.  It 
is  no  other,  in  practice,  than  to  drive  from  our  foreign  trade  a 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  III. 


33 


large  number  of  honest  importing  merchants,  and  to  place 
their  business  in  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  foreigners.  Time 
may  reveal  the  truth  of  this  prediction. 

The  President,  and  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  have  sta¬ 
ted  that  the  operations  of  the  present  tariff  law,  oppressed  the 
poor.  I  confess  this  assertion  surprised  me,  coming  from  high 
functionaries  of  the  government,  who  have  the  means  of  ob¬ 
taining  correct  information.  I  assume  the  responsibility  of 
stating  that  a  laboring  man  may  be,  and  is,  clothed  with 
American  manufactures,  from  the  crown  of  his  head,  to  the 
sole  of  his  foot,  as  cheaply  as  a  laboring  man  in  Great  Britain, 
or  any  other  part  of  Europe,  who  wears  as  comfortable  gar¬ 
ments;  and  that  the  revenue  is  raised  principally  from  arti¬ 
cles  consumed  by  those  classes  of  society,  who  are  in  easy  pe¬ 
cuniary  circumstances.  I  beg  to  refer  Mr.  Walker  to  the 
reports  from  the  customs,  and  ask  the  favor  of  him  to  present 
them  to  the  President,  and  he  will  there  find  the  only  article 
on  which  the  poor  man  is  taxed  to  any  extent,  is  sugar — and 
that  cannot  be  deemed  very  onerous,  when  he  obtains  his  tea 
and  cofie  free  of  duty,  and  with  a  favorable  prospect,  if  the 
present  duty  be  maintained,  of  very  soon  being  supplied  from 
our  own  soil,  with  sugar,  at  a  price  much  below  that  now 
paid.  It  is  an  error  of  the  President  and  Secretary,  to  put 
forth  a  statement  that  the  tariff  of  1842  oppresses  the  poor 
man,  when  the  principal  part  of  the  revenue  is  derived  rather 
from  the  luxuries,  than  the  necessaries  of  life. 

When  we  hear  from  high  sources,  of  transferring  our  work¬ 
shops  to  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and  Leeds,  I  should  be 
glad  to  know  if  it  be  proposed  to  transfer  our  intelligent  work¬ 
ing  men  with  them — and  whether  a  farmer  in  Ohio  can  be 
made  to  believe  that  these  men  will  eat  more  of  his  beef  and 
pork,  in  Old  than  in  New  England.  This  is  a  strange  doc¬ 
trine,  and  sounds  to  me  quite  anti-American,  and  is  the  same 
as  the  sentiments  uttered  by  the  old  Tories,  previous  to  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

There  is  one  other  point  to  which  I  shall  allude,  in  the  report 
of  the  Hon.  Secretary.  He  says  that  the  wages  of  labor  are 
lower  now,  than  previous  to  the  tariff  of  1842.  If  he  means 
5 


34 


LETTER  OF  HON.  ABBOTT  LAWRENCE  TO 


the  wages  of  labor  in  the  manufacturing  portions  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  I  will  state  a  fact,  which  I  think  completely  illustrates  the 
incorrectness  of  his  assertion. 

In  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  the  institutions  for  Savings, 
are  obliged  by  law,  to  make  returns  to  the  Legislature.  In  the 
annual  returns,  just  published,  I  find  the  following: 

Savings  Banks  in  Massachusetts. 


Number  of 
depositors. 

Amount 

deposited. 

Increase  in 
depositors. 

Increase  m 

amount 

deposited. 

1841 

1842 
1845 

39,832 

41,102 

54,256 

$6,485,424  82 
6,675,878  05 
9,214,954  07 

1,270 

13,154 

$190,453  23 
2,539,076  02 

Being  an  increase  from  1841  to  1842,  of  about  3  per  cent  on 
depositors,  and  about  3.^  per  cent  on  amount  deposited — and 
an  increase,  from  1842  to  1845,  of  about  32  per  cent  on  de¬ 
positors,  or  nearly  11  per  cent  per  annum,  and  about  38  per 
cent  on  amount  deposited,  or  nearly  13  per  cent  per  annum. 

I  shall  make  no  comments  upon  this  extraordinary  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  the  increase  of  depositors  and  deposits,  further  than  to 
state  that  all  the  world  know  for  whom  these  admirable  insti¬ 
tutions  were  established,  and  by  whom  they  are  used. 

I  will  not  trouble  you  with  more  facts,  arguments  or  illus¬ 
trations  touching  this  great  question,  national  in  its  character, 
and  as  broad  as  the  limits  of  the  Union,  and  one  that  reaches 
the  condition  of  every  individual  in  it. 

I  have,  personally,  no  more  interest  in  this  question  than 
any  other  citizen.  If  the  government  adopts  a  course  of  meas¬ 
ures  that  prostrates  the  labor  of  the  country,  I  shall,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  every  other  citizen,  feel  its  effects.  We  are,  I  hold, 
one  great  family,  and  indissolubly  linked  together,  and  the 
chain  cannot  be  touched,  without  the  vibration  being  felt  at 
either  extremity. 

I  entertain  and  cherish  a  strong  American  feeling;  although 
born  and  bred  in  Massachusetts,  I  have  a  feeling  of  pride  in 
the  honor  and  character  of  every  State  in  our  Union.  I 
desire  to  see  our  whole  population  go  onward  and  upward, 
in  a  course  of  prosperity  and  happiness.  My  affections  for 


HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  NO.  III. 


35 


this  country  are  not  bounded  by  geographical  lines,  and 
whether  I  find  myself  in  Maine  or  in  Georgia,  still  I  am  an 
American  citizen,  protected  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  and  happy  countries  upon  which  the 
sun  ever  shone.  With  all  our  party  strifes  and  bickerings,  the 
country  goes  on  prospering,  and  I  trust,  to  prosper.  I  have 
only  to  ask  of  those  who  are  now  the  actors  on  our  great  polit¬ 
ical  stage,  not  to  experiment  upon  the  prosperity  and  destinies 
of  a  happy  and  contented  people. 

With  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect  and  regard,  I  remain 
dear  sir. 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

ABBOTT  LAWRENCE. 
To  Hon.  William  O.  Rives,  Castle  Hill, 

Albemarle  County,  Virginia. 


I 

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